"How bad are the damages?" Enki demanded.

"All the reports have not come in yet, Taiho, but from what we have so far it isn't looking good."

Enki frowned. "I see…"

He sat just below the royal throne of En, arms crossed over his chest. Before him knelt several of the En ministers. Everyone there had a look of deep concern and uncertainty on their faces. During the night a shoku had struck with such ferocity that it had taken everyone by surprise. The front of the storm had ravished En but reports of extensive damage from Kei, Han, Sou, Kyou and even as far away as Ren were coming in hourly. In all five hundred years Enki had never seen a shoku this bad.

"What about word from Mt. Hou?"

"Mt. Hou has not suffered as much damage as the kingdoms it would seem. We got a notice from them this morning telling everyone that Kouki was unharmed."

"Taiho…" Hakutaku's voice stood out over the others and Enki turned his head towards him. "I am more concerned for His Majesty."

Enki bit his lip and looked away. He had been trying not to think about that but he knew he couldn't just ignore it. Shouryuu and Seishou were out and were still out when the storm hit. Enki still didn't know where they had gone, either. He had asked and asked but under strict orders from the king no one could tell him. It had irritated him and it still was, now more than ever. Why would Shouryuu not tell him where he had gone?

"Is there a possibility that he was swept off across the Koukai?" another minister asked fearfully.

"The shoku was sure bad enough to assume someone of royal blood was taken away. But I thought the shoku only carried ranka from this world, not people."

Enki scowled. "There's no way of knowing so don't go thinking about that. Someone may very well have crossed over from Over There instead. We just don't know. For now just keep taking in reports and offer the imperial army to help any places within En that need it. We need to start repairing the damages right away."

The ministers bowed and left, save for Itan and Shukou. Enki rubbed his forehead wearily.

"Taiho, we must consider it as a possibility," Shukou said seriously.

"I know. I know…" He looked up, irritated suddenly. "But it'd be great if someone actually told me where the hell he went at a time like this."

Itan and Shukou exchanged looks before Itan sighed heavily. "He went to investigate Dashinku."

"Dashinku?"

"In the Tei Province."

Enki looked startled. "Dashinku… Where Seishou said there had been a massacre?"

"Yes."

Of course… I should've known he'd go there. Something as serious and as unexpected as that would definitely be in Shouryuu's interests to investigate personally.

"First that and now this shoku… I have a bad feeling."

Enki stood from the dais and moved down the stairs to join Itan and Shukou.

"I'm going to go find him."

"That would not be advisable," Shukou replied instantly. "Since His Majesty is not here we need someone of authority to oversee what happens now. The next authority is the Taiho. Furthermore, His Majesty gave us strict orders to keep you here."

Enki scowled and looked frustrated. Idiot king. When he gets back I'm going to hit him.

"Fine."

And with that he marched past them and towards the doors. He hadn't felt this frustrated before in his life. But perhaps more than that, he was worried. Very, very worried. If Shouryuu had been taken back to Hourai because of that shoku there was no telling where he had gone or how long it would take to locate him. Enki had no doubt if he would be able to find his king. He knew he could. It was a matter of how long that would take that was the problem. Too long and Heaven's Will would be considered violated. En could fall. Something else that was bothering him was why Shouryuu would keep where he was going a secret. There must have been something more going on than he was aware of.

Idiot…


"There have been reports of extensive damages to all provinces."

"The Province of Ki has almost been completely demolished. They'll need emergency rations immediately."

In Kei, the situation was as grim as the one in En. The kingdom was hardly as well off as En and although En had taken most of the beating they were more equipped to handle it. Youko sat upon her throne, hardly looking very queenly as she was wearing casual robes. But this was an emergency and she found it was hardly appropriate to waste time dressing.

"The Wa Province is also asking for supplies," Keiki said from beside her. "We will not have enough for everyone at this rate."

The ministers knelt before the Kei throne began to mummer and Youko raised her hand to silence them.

"We'll just have to find some way to make due with what we have. Every province should get some of the rations even if they aren't asking for it. Also, encourage the provinces to help each other. Some aren't as bad off and can spare food and helping hands. I also want to be updated on the status of other kingdoms as they come in."

The ministers rose and bowed to her, at the waist as was unique to Kei, before they all filed out. Youko slumped, looking tired.

Keiki gave her a look and she sighed. "I'm debating on whether I should ask En Ou for help. I don't think Kei is equipped to handle such a disaster just yet."

"The Kingdom of En suffered extensive damage, according to the reports we have received. I don't believe they would be able to help."

"Right… I hope Rokuta and Shouryuu are okay, in that case."

"I have not heard from either of them directly."

Youko stood and nodded. "I want to send a letter then to make sure. Especially since they never answered my first one."

Keiki sighed. "But Your Majesty, there are more pressing matters to attend to right now…"

But Youko was already moving away, heading towards her room. "It won't take that long."

Keiki hurried after her, intercepting her before she left the throne room. He gave another sigh. "If Her Majesty insists, then I can send a letter instead. That will ensure you are handling everything else."

Youko blinked at his stern gaze and then smirked. "Fine, if my Taiho insists. I just want you to ask them if they and the Kingdom of En are okay. Nothing more."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

It was several days later when Youko received the reply that Shouryuu was missing.

Shouryuu awoke the morning after the shoku staring up at a bright blue sky. Several seagulls were circling overhead and the strong smell of salt hung in the air. For a brief moment Shouryuu thought he was back in Hourai, laying on the beach near his home. It took him a moment to come to his senses and remember what had happened. His body ached but nothing more, which surprised him. Even if he was immortal he had expected some kind of injury. That had been a very fierce shoku. Then again it was possible he had been injured and it had healed already. He didn't know how long he had been lying here, after all.

After a moment he finally sat up, rubbing his throbbing head as he observed his surroundings. He was on a beach all right, though where could not be determined. He wasn't sure he was even in En anymore. Ironically that thought that he might be in Hourai after all didn't cross his mind. Looking up and down the shoreline, the Ever King saw no one else. He had been separated from his men. Yet true to his character, he wasn't worried in the slightest. He climbed to his feet.

"I suppose first I need to find out where I am."

He turned and looked up. Behind him rose a very tall cliff of white rock. The cliff face was nearly completely smooth and so there was no hope of him climbing up it. Shielding his eyes from the sun, Shouryuu was silently debating on what to do when the sound of someone walking through the water alerted him. He turned and to his surprise saw the little girl he and his men had found stealing from their camp. The girl frozen in her tracks when she saw him and the ocean waves washed over her bare feet. She looked significantly less dirty than he remembered and her hair seemed wet.

"It's you," Shouryuu exclaimed and looked a bit perplexed. "You survived."

The girl looked equally as surprised for a moment before her face became neutral. She nodded. Well this made things a bit more complicated.

"Do you have a name?"

"Shiori."

It was the first time he had heard her speak. Her voice sounded hoarse and could barely be heard over the waves. To Shouryuu it sounded like she hadn't used it in months.

"All right then, Shiori. I'm going to go see if there's a place to climb up these cliffs. You're free to come with me if you'd like."

Shiori hesitated, looking back over her should as if someone might be following her. She nodded after a moment's thought and closed the distance between them until she was standing right next to him.

"Who… are you?"

Shouryuu began to walk and the girl hurried after him.

"You can call me Fuukan if you'd like."

"Fuukan…"

The two continued to walk in silence. The cliff side remained flat most of the way, however it began to slant downward. Eventually they came to a point where even without proper footing they could climb up it easily. Upon accomplishing that Shouryuu was instantly able to determine they were still in En. However he could also tell they were very far from Dashinku where they had started. Even further from the imperial palace.

"Interesting. I believe we're near the Ryuu boarder."

"Ryuu?"

"Yes, which means we're in the Kou province."

And the Kou province was under the Taiho's jurisdiction. So perhaps this wouldn't be as difficult as Shouryuu had thought. However first they had to reach Hokuro and that was on the other side of the province. It would be a long journey from here. Shouryuu sighed.

"We have a long way to go. Can you make it that far?"

Shiori looked up at the strange man named Fuukan. This man who had saved her and who was offering the first companionship she had found in a long, long time. Could she really trust him? More so, did she even have a choice? She had no idea where she was.

"I can make it."

Shouryuu studied her for a moment before he smiled. "Very well. Let's be on our way."

"Taiho, you have a visitor," Shukou announced.

Enki glanced over his shoulder. He'd been leaning against the railing, looking out over the sky sea. It had officially been a week and a half after the shoku had hit. Recovery was going slower than it should be and this was partially his fault. He was too restless. He had to go out and look for Shouryuu, not sit here and oversee something the ministers could take care of on their own. But Shukou continued to be very insistence that he stay and so Enki had stayed. Communications with other kingdoms had painted a picture of worldwide destruction thanks to this storm.

The kirin followed Shukou to the main hall and was surprised to see the brilliant red hair of Youko. He had completely forgotten about the letters they had recently exchanged.

"Youko! What are you doing here?" Enki demanded, moving past Shukou to greet her. "Shouldn't you be overseeing the repairs in Kei?"

Kei had suffered almost as badly as En, though technically Kei had suffered worse. En was wealthy enough to handle this disaster but Kei still was not.

Youko smiled. "It's all right. We're managing just fine. The damage isn't actually as bad as we all thought so I left Keiki to it for right now. I've been more worried about you."

"Me?"

"En Ou is still missing, isn't he?"

Enki nodded, thought he still looked perplexed about why Youko would be worried about him. He motioned for her to follow him, telling Shukou he could go. Enki led her outside, walking along the pathway that wound around the inner palace.

"I'm afraid that he might… have gone somewhere where he won't be easily found."

Youko frowned. "To Hourai? Is that possible?"

"I don't know. Usually ranka are taken from Here to Over There, never people. People come from Over There."

"I still don't understand. Why was he caught in the shoku in the first place?"

Rokuta paused, bowing his head slightly. Youko stopped a few steps ahead, looking at him with worry. He seemed all right and yet she could tell he was very worried about the Ever King. This was understandable, of course. Without the king on the throne En was in danger.

"He went out somewhere to investigate something. I don't… know a lot about it. He never told me."

Which wasn't a total lie. He knew more than he wanted to tell Youko but not enough to answer any of her questions. For Youko's part she was surprised. Somehow she never thought Shouryuu would leave and never tell Enki of all people where he was going. It struck her as incredibly worrisome.

Shaking his head, the Taiho abruptly changed the subject. "Tai reported damage as extensive as Kei. Kyou had moderate damage but nothing significant. Meanwhile Sai, Han, Ren and Sou only have mild damage compared to us. Kou and Hou have no ruler so there were no reports to be sure. And there was no response from Ryuu and Shun as usual, but I think it's a safe bet that they got hit hard too."

"So the eastern kingdoms got it the worst. En, Kei, Ryuu, Kou, Tai and Shun… That's half of the this world that got devastated by this shoku."

Enki nodded. "Thankfully most of the eastern kingdoms are stable now and can deal with this. However I should warn you that Kei might be flooded with more Kou refugees than it can handle thanks to this."

"I know… That was brought up already. I don't know what I'm going to do if that happens." Youko paused before adding, "I'm actually more concerned about the Ever-King."

"It's fine, we have some of our better soldiers looking for him."

Youko noted Enki didn't sound too confident. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Enki chuckled lightly, giving her a small smile. "It isn't your problem, Youko."

"Of course it is," Youko scowled and crossed her arms over her chest, giving the kirin a hard look. "Both of you have done so much for me since I arrived in this world and since I ascended the throne. I can't just ignore this and not help. I owe En that much at least."

Enki bit his lip and looked away, out into the gardens nearby. He was torn between telling Youko to return to Kei where her kingdom needed her and accepting her help, though he knew either way she would just do what she wanted. She was very stubborn. He ran his fingers through his hair.

"I don't need help finding Shouryuu. What I need is to go out myself and look. I can follow the oki and find his exact location in no time. But…"

But no one in the palace would let him leave. Rokuta leaned on his arms on the railing, staring absently out at the garden without really seeing it. Youko stepped up beside him with a confused look on her face.

"I don't understand. Why are you listening to the ministers? You're the Taiho, you overrule them."

"It was Shouryuu who gave the order, not them. So technically I have no choice but to obey."

"That doesn't sound like you."

Enki bowed his head slightly. "When the time is right I'll go. I can sense the oki even here. It's faint, but… at least I know he's all right."

"Well, if you're sure you can do this on your own…"

Enki turned his head and grinned. "I am. Don't worry."

Youko frowned. Somehow she was still worried. There was something about this whole mess that left her feeling uneasy. The shoku had been an ill omen. As she left Enki to his thoughts and then the next day left En all together, the queen of Kei couldn't help but feel that the real trouble was yet to come.